Empathy from “Bouncing Back” by Linda Graham

“Research shows that five elements of that empathy are essential for maturing the prefrontal cortex in the first place and for continuing to strengthen it throughout our lives:

1. Resonance: picking up the “vibe” of other people

2. Attunement: feeling your way into another person’s experience and “feeling felt” by them

3. Empathy (as one part of the larger umbrella of empathy): making sense of your experience or another’s, conveying a shared understanding of the meaning of the experience, and sensing that any experience is completely understood and accepted

4. Compassion: literally “feeling with,” keeping the heart open and caring in the face of struggle or suffering

5. Acceptance: coming to terms with what is or has been, so that you can cope going forward.”